Easter Eggs Live

1 April 2013

Researchers at the UCL Centre for Advanced Biomedical
Imaging (CABI) have embarked on a rather unique Easter egg hunt and have
been scanning chicken eggs for a new Channel 4 programme called Easter Eggs Live.

CABI scientists used magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) to peer beneath the shell of a developing chicken egg
to visualise the growth and position of the chick as it prepares to hatch.

Professor Mark Lythgoe, Director of CABI, said: “This collaboration
builds on previous work in CABI, where we have used high resolution MRI to
image embryos and search for genes involved with hole in the heart in babies. Here, we have captured a unique view of the
chick’s final movements after it has ruptured the air sac and prepares to hatch
using an MRI scanner.”

The egg was secured in a bed of cotton wool to keep it safe
and warm, before scanning commenced. This
was also a rare opportunity for the camera crew to film in close proximity to the
MRI scanner to capture footage of the egg entering the magnet.

“The egg was scanned several times over the course of the
gestation," said Holly Holmes, a researcher at CABI. "The images were used to generate a 3D animation of the chick
breaking into the air sac and breathing for the first time, before the hatching
process began.”

The CABI chick was born on Friday 15th March, and
is safe and well. One of the researchers who worked on the project, Dr Bernard
Siow, grew rather attached to her and has decided to give her a new home in
Wembley.

This work was carried out in partnership with Jamie Lochhead
and Kelly Neaves at Windfall Films and Jon Heras at Equinox Graphics
Ltd for a Channel 4 programme, Easter Eggs Live.